*Please note: Transportation, accommodation and related expenses are not included.

Eligibility:

To be eligible, you must be currently enrolled as a full time graduate or undergraduate student at an accredited educational institution, and must be at least 18 years old.

Applicants cannot have published a picture book or have received this scholarship before.

You may apply even if you have applied to the SIS in the past, as long as you are still a full time student and have not won.

Guidelines:

Send the following to sarahbaker@scbwi.org:

A description in 250 words or less of why you wish to attend the SCBWI Conference. Description must be in the body of the email, not in a separate attachment.

Three samples of your children’s book-style illustrations in separate attachments (not in one pdf.) The title of each file must be structured as follows: first name_last name_1 (please do not include titles of the pieces besides this naming convention)

A letter of recommendation from an Illustration faculty member. The letter should be emailed directly from the faculty member and must be in the body of the email, not in a separate attachment. The subject line should be structured as follows: SIS recommendation (Student Name)

Your address, full name as it is listed in your school’s records, phone number and a photo of your current student I.D.

The subject line of your email must be structured as follows: SIS (Your Name)

Scholarship recipients will be chosen by a rotating jury composed of three industry professionals.

NOTE: In the event that a recipient can not attend for any reason, Sarah Baker should be notified as soon as possible. The scholarship may, in that event, be awarded to another applicant. The grant is not transferrable and cannot be postponed.

SCBWI reserves the right not to award the scholarships in any given year.

Thoughts on the SCBWI SIS from past winners:

Katie Kath

Since winning the Scholarship, I’ve been working with an illustration rep in New York (Shannon Associates), and have worked for about sixteen different clients. Most are publishing houses, both large and small, some are magazines and educational institutions/companies. Many of these clients are return customers and I have done several books with them.

I’ve illustrated fourteen books (a combination of both picture books and middle grade novels) since the SIS, two of which will be published this Fall (two MG sequels), and I have two new children’s books I’m currently illustrating that will be published in the next few years.

One of the most exciting book deals I have gotten so far is one I completed a few years ago, a re-issuing of a Dr. Seuss book entitled Come Over to My House. It still feels weird seeing my name next to the beloved Dr.’s on the cover, but it’s definitely an honor!

I’ve visited many elementary schools, libraries, and have spoken about my work and the children’s book industry at universities as well. In July of this year, I’ll be speaking at the Mazza Museum in Findlay, Ohio, for their summer conference.

I truly believe that none of these opportunities would have been available to me had I not won the Scholarship, and it has really provided the open door for me to illustrate books and media for children the way I have been. Art directors, editors, and authors in this industry are such lovely people, and have always been wonderful to work with.

Through the SIS, I believe I was also able to obtain representation from a prominent illustration agency, which is something I had wanted very badly since attending grad school, but what seemed like only a pipe dream to me at the time.

I am so very grateful for my SCBWI “family” for graciously giving me the means to achieve my dreams—thank you!

Winning the SCBWI Student Illustrator Scholarship helped me get my work out there, meet art directors in NYC, and get an agent—Mela Bolinao. I’m really grateful for all of that. Together with hard work, it led me to work on my debut children’s book, When I Carried You In My Belly written by Thrity Umrigar, which was released last year. I’m forever grateful to SCBWI for the Scholarship which gave me a good start to my illustration career.

Receiving the SCBWI Student Scholarship was one of the biggest turning points in my life. Before I got the SCBWI Scholarship, I wanted to be an illustrator, but I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of illustrator I wanted to be. After being selected as one of the winners of the 2014 Winter Scholarship and participating in the Winter Conference, I realized that I wanted to be a children’s book illustrator.

Participating in the SCBWI Conference was a great opportunity for me as a student at the time.

I met many agents and art directors, and I was able to see the portfolios of many other illustrators. By participating in the Conference, I was able to experience the atmosphere of the children’s book industry for the first time. I think it’s not enough just to say that it was helpful.